The Ongoing Saga Of My Tummy

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essayons89

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I don't know if any of you remember but a few months back I posted a thread complaining about a recurring problem with my tummy. I had a colonoscopy back in June, my second in less than two years, and a couple of doctor visits since then. I've been on a medication called Colazal which is for mild to moderate ulcerative colitis. Anyway, I went to the doctor this past Wednesday and he said that based on his observations and the biopsy results that the inflammation is chronic. What he couldn't completely nail down is what I have. He said that I could have either Ulcerative Colitis or that it could be Chron's Disease. He said that he can't tell for sure which one it is because the condition hasn't progressed to the point to make a clear diagnosis possible. In addition to continuing to take the Colazal he also put me on a glucocorticosteriod called Entocort which is used to treat mild to moderate Chron's disease. I have to see him again in six weeks. In the meantime I have to get bloodtests for the following to see if there could be any other problems (I have no idea what some of these are):
CBC with Differential
Sed Rate
T3/T4/TSh (I'm familiar with the first two because Shadow has hyperthyroidism)
Transglutaminase AB
IGA Level

This is different from my previous bloodtest. The last couple of days I've been battling diarrhea and lethargy but no stomach soreness. I've been pretty tired all week long, much more than I normally am.
 
swampwitch

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I found a link for you from the Mayo Clinic.

http://www.mayoclinic.org/crohns/treatment.html

It sounds like the cortisteroids are for severe Chron's Disease. If you are not tolerating the meds well, you might want to contact your doctor again.

TSH is a test for Thyroid Stimulating Hormone. The pituitary gland releases this hormone which causes the release of thyroid hormone into your body. It really doesn't tell much except if the TSH levels swing wildly over the course of tests over many months. (That is a symptom of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.)

I wonder why your doctor says it has progressed to the point where you can't tell which condition it is? I don't know about either disease but that sounds a bit strange.

I hope you get a good diagnosis so you can receive proper treatment. Sending best wishes.
 
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essayons89

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Originally Posted by SwampWitch

I wonder why your doctor says it has progressed to the point where you can't tell which condition it is? I don't know about either disease but that sounds a bit strange.
Click to expand...
I'm sorry, I made a typo when I posted and didn't catch it. It has been corrected. The condition hasn't progressed to the point where a totally clear diagnosis is possible. One of the problems with bowel disorders is that the symptoms are the same for many of them, which makes diagnosis somewhat difficult. No problems with either medication. The corticosteroid that I'm on is actually Budesonide. Entocort must be a generic version.

Thanks for the link and the info about TSH.
 
luvmy2cats

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I'm so sorry to here that. Colon problems run in my family. I'm not saying colitis is fun but I pray you don't have Chron's. My mom has it and has gotten very sick before. She now takes a drug called remicaid and it works very good. I pray you'll find something out soon so you can get the right treatment. Hang in there.
 
sharky

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Originally Posted by Essayons89



I don't know if any of you remember but a few months back I posted a thread complaining about a recurring problem with my tummy. I had a colonoscopy back in June, my second in less than two years, and a couple of doctor visits since then. I've been on a medication called Colazal which is for mild to moderate ulcerative colitis. Anyway, I went to the doctor this past Wednesday and he said that based on his observations and the biopsy results that the inflammation is chronic. What he couldn't completely nail down is what I have. He said that I could have either Ulcerative Colitis or that it could be Chron's Disease. He said that he can't tell for sure which one it is because the condition hasn't progressed to the point to make a clear diagnosis possible. In addition to continuing to take the Colazal he also put me on a glucocorticosteriod called Entocort which is used to treat mild to moderate Chron's disease. I have to see him again in six weeks. In the meantime I have to get bloodtests for the following to see if there could be any other problems (I have no idea what some of these are):
CBC with Differential
Sed Rate
T3/T4/TSh (I'm familiar with the first two because Shadow has hyperthyroidism)
Transglutaminase AB
IGA Level

This is different from my previous bloodtest. The last couple of days I've been battling diarrhea and lethargy but no stomach soreness. I've been pretty tired all week long, much more than I normally am.
Click to expand...
CBC with Differential
that is a basic white cell count , should cover all five types
Sed Rate
???
T3/T4/TSh (I'm familiar with the first two because Shadow has hyperthyroidism)
already stated
Transglutaminase AB
Have an Idea but
IGA Level
this is a immuneglobulin protein... I have a deficiency of this one , another one and a another tyoe
...


I am going to ask what you eat >>???
 
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CBC with diff measures both the amount of red blood cells and white blood cells in the blood. It will look for abnormal amounts and abnormal appearance of the cells. In your case, the Eosinophils are the most significant as they indicate the presence of an allergic reaction of some sort.

Sed rate measures the speed at which red blood cells settle to the bottom of a test tube. The presence of certain abnormal proteins in the blood can cause red blood cells to stick together and sink to the bottom more quickly. An elevated sed rate can indicate imflammation.

You already know about the thyroid panel.

Transglutaminase AB is the marker for celiac disease, I believe.

IgA is the antibody associated with protecting the mucosal lining of the intestinal tract, I think.


The treatment for both Crohns and U.C. is very similar, so having one diagnosis or the other isn't that critical. In fact, some people flip back and forth between the two diagnoses over the years.
Stress is a huge, huge, HUGE factor. It may take a couple of weeks for the problems to show up, but stress is often at the root of a flare up.

Celiac disease seems to be on the rise. I see more and more kids with it now too. Eliminating the glutens can make a huge difference, but it does require some lifestyle changes.

Good luck and positive thoughts for something easily treatable.
 
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essayons89

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Great info, thank you for the explanations!

I have very little stress that I need to deal with. I usually don't let many things bother me, especially things that I can't control.

Sharky, I eat pretty much what I want to eat but I try to eat smaller, frequent meals instead of one or two large meals. Sometimes I fail miserably at this with the weird hours I work. I still eat fast food but I try to do so in moderation. I eat a lot of fruit and salads. Chicken, fish, turkey and I've cut back on the amount of red meat I consume. I still working on trying to eat better.
 
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